Buying a car:Dealer vs. Private

mufc4lfe

Im looking to buy my first car.What are the pros and cons of these two options?

Not being smart but if you don't know that I suggest you stick to a reputable dealer

mufc4lfe

RoverJames wrote: »

Not being smart but if you don't know that I suggest you stick to a reputable dealer

Well I know that you can get a car cheaper privately but could be getting something dodgy....and if you go with a dealer although you might pat a few hundred more its 100% roadworthy and you can go back to the dealer in the future with any problems!Is that basically it!

Joey the lips

I am in the same boat and i can see why you would look privatly for starters.

There is no vat.

flamegrill

There's no VAT charged on second hand cars iirc.

Joey the lips

flamegrill wrote: »

There's no VAT charged on second hand cars iirc.

Omg.... I am seriously stupid..... Thank you. I will have to go off and think of another reason.

johndaman66

It depends really. Some people have a preference for buying a used car from a dealer and more have a preference for buying privately.

I would personally rather buy privately. If you meet the owner you can sometimes get a better inkling on how the car might have being used or abused judging by the owner and how they keep their house if you happen to be around it/ or other vehicles they may have in their driveway. You may not be afforded as much protection as you might expect if buying from a dealer. I bought my first car from a dealer and it was plagued with problems. They were not properly rectified and the warranty ran out before I was able to reject the car. The dealer basically didn't want to know me and it was heartache getting the car fixed with them. It would be sitting with them for days on end, waiting on parts and what not and when I'd ring them to find out what the srory was would get very little co-operation...it was basically a bloody nusiance. If you are thinking of buying from a dealer and thinking SIMI would be your saving grace do think again and put that thought to one side:rolleyes: I do accept that I was very unlucky with that first car and any car I have bought privately since has being relatively good to me so perhaps my point of view is a wee bit skewed.

If a car has had a lot of owners alarm bells should start ringing regardless of buying privately or from a dealer. Ask and demand to see VLC whether it be private sale or from dealer... Don't accept "I think its had 3 owners" or such statements which are neither here nor there. If you get a bad feeling about the car or seller don't go through with the sale....There are way too many cars for sale to accept a lemon.

Learn to haggle if buying from dealer or privately. If you don't ask you wont get:) Remember that perhaps your best bargaining tool as a buyer is the fact that you can walk away at any stage!

flamegrill

A few points to note.

Don't buy a hyundai from a VW dealer. What i mean is if you're going to buy a second hand car from any dealer, it's usually a good idea to buy a make of car that they're a main dealer for.

i.e. buy a vw from a vw main dealer etc. This will result in a better experience IMO.

I've bought 3 second hand cars over the past 5 years. Each one from a main dealer, each one had it's few wee problems and all problems were resolved under the warranty.

If buying privately get the car checked out by the AA or some other reputable company. It's worth while paying between 100 and 250 euro to ensure the car is in good nick and most importantly hasn't been crashed.

When you buy privately you've little or no recourse. When you buy from a company they have to adhere to the law. Knowing your rights is key here. I'd not consider a private sale ever purely because the guy can cut and run and you've got feck all you can do to get your money back / get the car repaired under warranty.

My 2c.

Paul

Tipsy Mac

Depends too what you want to spend, anything under €5000 I would go private, anything over €10,000 I would go to a dealer either main or independent. Anything inbetween use your best judgement.

junkyard

Just get an assessor or a very good mechanic or panel beater to look at it for you, I wouldn't take a garages word for things generally.

bazz26

It really depends on how much you are spending. On a low budget say under €4k you may find that you get better value buying privately whereas a garage may have junk in that price range.

Remember when buying private you have no comeback but in saying that some of the basic warranties being handed out by some garages are not worth the paper they are written on.